Chapter 72
After returning to Stokelle, life slowly settled back into something resembling normalcy. Aside from Cameron still occasionally harassing her with texts and calls from random new numbers, things had quieted down.
Ryan, in a rare act of kindness, had granted her a week off.
“However, you have to maintain the zoo in my bed.”
Cassandra counted with her fingers. There were 23 days left until the end of the one–month cooling–off period for the divorce.
God. What a week it had been.
Daisy had tried to comfort her once, saying, “Snowball was probably the last thread tying you and Cameron together. Now that she’s gone… maybe it’s the universe giving you a little push.”
Cassandra understood the logic, but the way Snowball had violently died haunted her.
15 years of companionship, taken from her just like that. It was hard to breathe, let alone
move on.
Luckily, Daisy’s new show was about to start filming. Since Cassandra was temporarily free, she dragged her along to help with the script.
Cassandra didn’t know much about filmmaking, but she understood the real reason behind the invitation.
Daisy wanted to keep her busy–keep her from drowning in grief.
While flipping through a script during a rehearsal break, Daisy said out of nowhere, “That Ryan… there’s something off about him.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know exactly. He just feels off.”
Cassandra didn’t even look up. “You think he has… certain preferences?”
“No!” Daisy waved her hands quickly. “That’s not it. Cassie, didn’t you think it was strange that he was the one who told you about Snowball?”
The script slipped from Cassandra’s hands and fell to the floor with a soft thud.
She hadn’t thought about it before. She’d been too busy dealing with the Dorsey handling Snowball’s final arrangements, and chasing closure.
ly,
But now that Daisy mentioned it, it was strange.
“And that photo of you and Professor Myers,” Daisy continued. “He’s the one who took it. The
timing was too perfect. The angle was spot–on. Think about it.
“Even if we saw something worth snapping, we’d still need time to pull out our phones,
unlock them, open the camera, and aim… for at least a few seconds, right? But your photo with Professor Myers looked like”
“Like what?”
“Like the ones the paparazzi take of me,” Daisy said flatly. “They’re always aiming their cameras at me, just waiting for a good shot.”
Cassandra’s blood ran cold. “You’re saying that… Ryan was following me?”
“Maybe not him personally. But I wouldn’t be surprised if he had someone tailing you.
A chill crept up Cassandra’s spine. Right on cue, her phone rang.
“Mr. Scott?” She put it on speaker.
“Come down. Dinner’s ready.”
She glanced at Daisy and decided to try him. “I already ate,” she said casually.
“Liar. You had half a bowl of millet porridge this morning and skipped lunch. What? Trying to starve yourself to join Snowball in the afterlife?”
The speakerphone carried every word across the room. Daisy’s eyes went wide. Her expression morphed into something between shock and panic.
Cassandra felt uneasy, but she kept going. “I had some snacks at Daisy’s place. I’m not hungry.
There was a pause.
“Cut the crap. Get down here, or I’m docking your pay.”
Cassandra took a deep breath. “Mr. Scott, are you spying on me? Did you plant a camera on me or something? I’ve been in Daisy’s room all day–how would you even know if I had snacks?”
There was dead silence on the other end.
Daisy immediately leapt into action, searching the room for hidden devices. She checked corners, drawers, and curtains. Nothing was found.
After a long moment, Ryan’s voice returned. “She’s an actress about to start filming. She’s probably dieting. She wouldn’t have snacks lying around.”
“She buys them, but I eat them,” Cassandra said.
Ryan’chuckled. “Then hurry up. My son’s waiting for you.‘
Daisy blinked. “His son? Wait–hold up. He has a kid? But he was crushing on Cameron. I mean, look, that’s not a crime, but surrogacy? That’s a whole new scandal!”
Chapter 73
Chapter 73
